Organisation: Brake
Date of Publication: April 2021
Date Uploaded: 11 May 2021
This report suggests that budget shortfalls, a lack of resources and qualified staff, and having no statutory place in the curriculum are impeding teachers from sharing road safety information.
The report sought the views of teachers and educational advisers to determine how road safety is currently taught in UK schools, and recommend how resources should be developed.
Statistics show in the UK, on average more than six children under the age of 15 years are killed or seriously injured on roads every day, mainly while walking or cycling.
Despite this, the report highlights there is currently no statutory guidance for teaching road safety in UK schools. It notes that many schools cover the subject through PSHE or Citizenship lessons – but this inevitably means that the frequency, methodology, quality and effectiveness of how it is taught vary widely.
Brake says an overwhelming majority of participants said they would like road safety teaching to be part of the national curriculum and would like more resources to support this. They also expressed concerns over the potential for curriculum squeeze, and the lack of time to teach additional subjects.
The report also includes the following 12 recommendations that can be used by anyone who is developing resources to teach road safety in schools:
• Meet curriculum requirements
• State clear learning objectives
• Meet teachers’ needs
• Easily fit into a tightly packed curriculum
• Be engaging and appealing
• Provide high levels of interactivity
• Follow teaching theory and best practice
• Reflect the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
• Provide differentiation activities to support less able pupils and challenge more able pupils
• Be produced in collaboration with teachers, pupils, parents and road safety experts
• Be compatible with digital learning platforms that schools use
Access the report via the Brake website: